GOLD Coast captain Noah Anderson doesn't need to go far for State of Origin war stories ahead of his debut for Victoria in February.

Anderson's dad, Dean, donned the Big V on two occasions during his career, playing in a win over South Australia in 1991 and a loss to Western Australia in the same year.

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Now, ahead of his seventh season and fresh off leading the Suns to their maiden finals appearance, it's the younger Anderson's turn to represent his state.

"Dad said he barely got on, back in the day when the interchange was a bit different," Noah told AFL.com.au with a chuckle.

"He sat on the bench for a while.

"It was pretty cool when I was talking to him. I'll need to talk a bit more about the history of it.

"It's such a surreal opportunity to represent Victoria. I don't think it will feel real until I actually get the jumper and run out there and see who you're playing with."

Anderson will be familiar with a couple of his teammates, with best friend Matt Rowell selected, along with their former Carey Grammar school teammate, Nick Daicos.

"Any time you get selected in a group of players you admire and look up to is so cool and an opportunity you have to jump at," he said.

"Growing up and playing for Victoria in schoolboys and under-16s and 18s, you probably don't think you're ever going to do it again.

"It's a fair midfield. Being among that amount of pedigree and talent and level of experience is pretty cool."

Missing just three games since his debut in 2020, and on a streak of 85 consecutively at the moment, Anderson said this pre-season had a been a little different to date.

"We played a bit later in the year, so I'm just trying to time my run a little bit and accelerate into January a bit more when I get back," he said.

"It's a new experience. I'm used to, individually and as a club, flying in December, which is what we had to do to build a base of work ethic and set the standard.

"It was a longer year last year and I've had five or six years of playing every game and understanding that's a lot for the body and the legs, so I'm doing a little less volume at this time of year to hopefully help me fresh in the back end of the year when hopefully we're playing finals."